Lochness
by Klenotka
Summary: McKay, two scared children and hungry Nessie.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Talonians and Hanks are mine, SGA, unfortunately not

Thanks much to Kormiic. This story would never exist without her.

Lochness

"Elizabeth, you have to be kidding! Why me?" cried McKay.

Elizabeth Weir had just told him that he would be taking the children of King Heron on a trip. "Because he wants _you_. His son is interested in Ancient technology and his daughter would like visiting a planet other than hers. She'll be his successor he wants her to be educated."

"Well, they want to go to another planet, so why not just Atlantis?" He didn't like children. They asked stupid questions and complained about anything.

"They were here already. I promised them a flight in the Jumper. You can land and have a picnic or something. Their nanny will be with them."

Rodney quirked an eyebrow, his interest momentarily piqued. "Nanny? How old is she?" This might not be so bad after all.

"She's sixty-five, Rodney," answered Elizabeth with small grin.

The eyebrow returned to its original, irritated position."Oh."

"Heron believes you are best-suited for this. You know Ancient technology and you can use it."

"Sheppard or another pilot can do it," he tried.

"Sheppard can fly with Jumper but you know its inner functions. And the boy, Jano, is very smart and he surely won't be interesting only in Jumper technology. You're always asking for more opportunities to fly."

"Yes. But not with two whiny children behind my back."

"My God, Rodney. It will only be _one day_. Do you remember the planet with the lakes? The planet was nearly covered by them." She looked to her computer.

Rodney nodded his head. "Minnesota."

"What?"

"M6X-551, " he recovered hastily. "No signs of civilisation." Minnesota was what Ford had named it. Before...

"Exactly. You'll take them there tomorrow morning, let them wander around, and in the evening you'll bring them back again."

"Ok." McKay finally conceded grumpily. He wasn't enthusiastic, but Elizabeth had a point. He _did_ know the most about ancient technology in this galaxy. And they _were_ royal family after all.

"Tell me more about them," he asked slightly more willingly.

"Thanks, Rodney." She smiled appreciatively and continued. "The Talonians are important allies. They have food, weapons, and highly advanced medicine. Now, the children are twins; the boy is Jano and the girl is Jena. They're both twelve."

"That'll be fun to remember," he commented with irritated sigh. She ignored him and continued.

"Their nanny is called Sorya, and I think you'll find her very... charming. I'd like to send one more person with you."

"What about Sheppard?" Rodney blurted out, but Weir only smiled.

"Nice try. But he goes to Earth today to report to General Landry. He won't be back until after tommorow. And Teyla with Ronan are busy on the mainland. As you know, we have several new members with us that arrived on the Daedulus. Corporal Hanks is one of them. You will have him under your command, and he will take orders from you. He is only your back up." _Great, another kid to take care of_.

Rodney sighed. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow at 0700. Try to get some sleep. I have a feeling it'll be a long day for you. And do remember, Rodney, they are _royalty_. Jena is ten minutes older than Jano, which makes her heir to the throne. Try to be polite," she said, an amused undertone in her voice.

"Yes, yes, Elizabeth. Thank you for the advice," he replied hurridly before turning to walk away. Elizabeth smiled to herself. _A little lesson in diplomacy wouldn't do him much harm either. Let's hope he doesn't ruin this aliance with his charming personality. _

xXxXxXx

McKay arrived in the Jumper Bay at approximately 0630 only to find two hyper children, an old woman and one very nervous corporal already standing beside Jumper.

"I see you couldn't wait," he commented dryly, and to his surprise, the old lady, Sorya, came over to him.

"You must be Doctor McKay, our pilot. Is this," she pointed at his beretta, "really necessary?"

"We are flying to another planet, madam and I believe it is very necessary." He took yet P-90 from the box. "It's good to be ready." He turned to young corporal. _Oh god, he looks younger than Ford. _ The memory of the former member of his team sent a sudden chill through his body. He missed him and it hurt.

"Who're you?" he asked blandly, looking at the young man and for the first time noticing the scared expression on his face.

"Corporal David Hanks, sir." McKay only nodded before moving on to his next question.

"And how old are you?" The scared expression was quickly replaced with confusion.

"I am nineteen, sir."

"So young and in the SG program already?"

"I was the best in my class," answered the young corporal proudly.

"You came here directly from school? Have you _ever_ been on another planet before? Excepting Atlantis, of course."

"No sir. Dr.Weir thought this would be a good excercise for me."

"Fine, " McKay huffed. "But don't expect any excitement. This will be a very long day with two kids and their nanny." He looked them over and was caught off guard when Hanks smiled. The corporal had heard legends about McKay. Cynical, egoistic and arrogant but the best at what he did, and a good person underneath his sarcastic front. It would be an honor for him to go on his first off world mission with this man.

McKay spoke again,bringing him out of his dream-like trance. "So listen to me, everyone. You will do exactly what I tell you to do. We are going to another planet and it is always dangerous. This place may be deserted but you can be never careful enough. Now get to the ship." He began his way to the Jumper ramp, but Sorya stopped him.

"You are scaring children. You didn't have to say that."

"I'm only doing my job. Playing chauffer to a bunch of campers wasn't exactly in my job description, but at the moment it's what the leader of this expedition wants me to do, so it's exactly the thing I will do. And I expect you to do the same when I tell you to do something. So take it or leave it." She eyes narrowed at the condecension in his voice, but she said nothing.

"And now if you will do a little favor for me and board the Jumper." He motioned toward the ramp and she entered, head held high. He rolled his eyes and silently followed.

"Control room, this is Jumper One. We are ready to go," Rodney announced to his radio.

"You have green light. Be careful. And do _try_ to be nice," answered Elizabeth's voice.

"I'm always nice." He heard her laugh.

"Yes, of course you are, Rodney. You can go."

"See you in the evening. Jumper One, out." He began dial the Gate and smiled to himself. He liked the feeling of ancient technology powering up under his touch.

He gently guided the Jumper through wormhole. It was a picturesque planet that reminded him strongly of Finland, where he had spent a summer as a teenager. But on this planet, there were hundreds if not thousands of such lakes. The stargate stood before one of the largest of these lakes. The scientists that had explored the planet earlier believed that there was life in them but they had yet to discover anything larger than plankton and bacterium.

Almost immediatly after emerging through the event horizon, Rodney circled slowly, before making to land the Jumper

"Why are you landing?" questioned the boy in dissapointment.

"We have specifically chosen this location because it's close to the Gate. It's less dangerous."

"But you said it's safe here," Jano replied.

"Yes, well we certainly hope it is, now don't we? It's just a precaution."

"But I want to see the whole planet." This came from Jena.

"Well, you won't." _And that's the end of that._

"I am ordering to you," she yelled. _That's enough!_

"I don't know who gave you information, young lady, but I am in command here. And I say we're landing." She a small unidentifiable sound escaped from her lips before she began to speak again.

"But I am the Princess of Talonia and successor to the throne!"

"Maybe on your planet you are, but right here you only a little girl who should listen to the adult." Turning around, he saw that she wasn't far from tears. And suddenly he was sorry. She was only a little girl. But before he could say anything, Sorya spoke.

"Listen to Doctor McKay, Jena. He knows what is he doing. You can go walk when we land."

"I don't think that's…" He stopped talking when he looked at Sorya. She had made a compromise and knew what she was doing.

"Ok. But Hanks will go with you." Nobody said anything more so he took it as agreement.

The planet was absolutely beautiful. He wasn't the romantic type but there was something about this place. He breathed deeply as he watched children and began to prepare their picnic. Hanks stood near them and watched the surroundings, hand resting lightly on the butt of his weapon.

Rodney motioned for the nanny to come toward him. "Sorya, I think it would be the best if children don't go in the water. We don't know much about these lakes so it's possible there may be some wild fish or other unknown creature lurking beneath the surface." She nodded and went to tell the children.

When he went back to Jumper to cloak it, Jano joined him. "How does it work?" The boy looked at him with genuine interest.

"How does work what?" McKay asked impatiently.

"The Jumper. How does it work? And how does work this?" He pointed at the P-90 in his hands. _Why not? He looks smart._

So he began to explain to the boy everything he knew. It was more amusing than he could have imagined. Jano was hanging onto every word, eyes wide with wonder, and McKay liked it.

Later that afternoon he sat with Sorya on the blanket, both watching the children play near the water.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"What for?" asked the nanny, har gave never wavering from the children.

"For everything. I can be very contrary when I want to. And I want to most of the time."

To his surprise she smiled. "Jena is doing the same. Her father is expecting so much from her. But she isn't the type comfortable with leading so many people. Jano is better, but then he isn't under such pressure. You are doing the same. So many people depend at you and you don't want to let them come too close. It is typical for many such leaders." Well, it was interesting. And, as much as he hated to admit it, she spoke the truth.

He wanted to answer her, but he never got his chance. From the shore of the lake came a sharp cry of pain. McKay's tightened his grip on his weapon as he ran toward the children, Hanks converging from the other side. When they arrived, they saw several awful tentacles erupt from the lake. At the source of cry was Jena. One of the tentacle had twined around her ankle and pulled her directly into lake.

Hanks pointed his gun but McKay stopped him. "Don't shoot! You could hurt her!" They quickly waded into the shallows of the lake. Jano stood several meters from the shore, unable to move. Rodney pulled out his knife and hesitated, not sure exactly what he should he do. Noticing that Hanks beside him was preparing to do the same he raised his arm to stab the tentacle. But in that moment two more appeared and began to thrash them. Now he didn't hesitate. He picked up his P-90 and began fire at the same time as Hanks.

In that moment Sorya leapt to Jena and caught her wrists. Desperately, the girl began to climb from the water. Whatever the creature was, it was suprised by the sudden attack and let the girl go. But only for the moment. It began pull Jena deeper into the lake, and she fought for her life. Decisively, Sorya took the knife with which she had been prepared the picnic and ran into water, stabbing the tentacle which pulled the little princess. A horrible wail came out from the lake and the tentacles began to retreat beneath the surface.

McKay and Hanks stopped shooting and watched them disappear as Jena ran toward them. McKay barely had a chance to catch the running girl before he heard the sound again. And suddenly Sorya, still standing ankle-deep in the water, cried out and disappeared. Then there was only a horrible silence broken by Jena's muffled sobs. Her brother stood in the same place the whole time, numb with shock. McKay repressed a shudder and nodded to corporal.

Not trusting his voice to remain steady, he only whispered. "Hanks, take Jano from there." The shaken corporal nodded and walked toward the boy, his gun trained toward the lake all the while. He gently led him away and then returned to stand beside the shell-shocked physicist. doctor. McKay held a sobbing Jena and stared out vacantly at the lake, still not able to believe what he had just witnessed.


	2. Chapter 2

Lochness

Chapter 2

"We have to get back to the Jumper now. Don't go near the lake," McKay ordered, though the words rang hollow in his ears. _Oh God, what was that? This isn't happening,_ his mind panicked. _You have to stay calm. You have here two, practically three kids. Just get everyone back to the Jumper._

Fortunately they were only about a hundred meters from the jumper, so he hurriedly motioned the others toward it. One hand grasped Jena's small fingers, which were shaking uncontrollably, while the other had a white-knuckled grip on his weapon. He wasn't certain if that creature lived only in this lake or in the others too, and he sure as hell wasn't willing to risk their lives on it. Could it possibly live on the mainland too? Why didn't their life signs detector notice them? So many questions and so few answers.

For a moment he wished he could let all of his emotions out just like the children before him; sink down and cry, scream, curse at whatever had caused another innocent life to be lost in this new galaxy. But he had to be strong. Corporal Hanks looked terrified, surprising for a soldier, but not unexpected considering his age. Jano was shaking, face drawn and pale. He walked silently behind Hanks.

_These kids just watched as their nanny was, what exactly, eaten? _He couldn't even describe what had just happened_. It was like that creature from the Fellowship of the Ring. _That was the only connection he could draw as they hurried back to the Jumper. He hadn't even seen a head of any sort. There was only a frenzied blur of tentacles and the struggling and shooting that quickly ensued. Nothing more.

Hanks settled the children into the rear seats of the jumper, where they remained silent and still, obviously still stunned by the horrific turn of events. After several long moments, the corporal finally broke the silence. "What the hell was that? It looked like a giant octopus but I couldn't see anything besides those damned tentacles. Do you think there are more of them here?" he asked apprehensively.

He looked with wide eyes at McKay, but the older man had no answers to offer. For one of the few times in his life he simply had no answer. Whenever something on the mission went wrong, he was never alone. Sheppard or Teyla was always there and they knew what to do. Now he was here with two children and one panicked corporal. He knew what he _should _do. They had to get to the gate. It wasn't far. The only problem was that stargate stood between two lakes and the only way to approach it required them to fly low directly over one of them. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Alright, kiddies, that's it. We're going home." He took the jumper up and immediately oriented it toward the gate. Although the lake was long, it didn't look like anything was following them.

"Corporal, dial the gate," he ordered and Hanks pressed the first symbol. Suddenly the whole Jumper shook. McKay frantically looked out of the window and barely managed to suppress a whimper when he saw what had caused it. Several long and slimy tentacles had reached out of the lake and were now attempting to ensnare the craft. He immediately piloted the jumper higher, out of reach of those monstrous tentacles, although it bucked uneasily under his control.

"Hold on!" He settled on a place far from the majority of the lakes. Unfortunately, it was far from the gate as well. Several kilometers from the edge of a dense forest was a small glade, on which he landed the shuddering Jumper with surprising softness. He had no clue how intelligent this animal was, but he hoped it couldn't go out from the lake. They couldn't fly back there. And what was worse, the Jumper's engine seemed to be damaged from their brief encounter with the monster. Their only way out from this hell was through stargate.

He stood up from his seat and looked back at children. They looked like they didn't even notice the landing. "Everybody ok?" He saw Hanks nod, but still received no reaction from his little companions.

Rodney took Jena by her shoulders and shook her. It wasn't very gently but they didn't have time for this. "Jena, do you hear me?" He shook her again. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his, and he smiled at her. "That's good. We're getting out of here, and I need your cooperation. Do you understand?" She didn't react again. _Shit. Damned children._ After running a frustrated hand through his hair, he did the only thing he could think of – he slapped her.

"Doctor McKay!" Hanks had jumped out from his seat, weapon at the ready. But he sat back in astonishment to see that it had actually worked. The sound of slap seemed to have awoken Jano too. Neither child spoke, but they finally appeared aware of the world around them.

"Are you both alright?" _Stupid question, McKay._ The two nodded but remained silent. For now, their response was good enough for him.

"What are we going to do?" asked Hanks. Three pairs of eyes turned to look at Rodney.

"Um, the plan is currently under construction… Well, technically it hasn't really started yet," he admitted. "We can't go to gate, but when we don't check in, Elizabeth will call us. Let's hope she doesn't send anyone through. We'll have to wait it out for now. I think we're safe here. The Jumper's flyable, but I'm afraid to take her too high. The stabilizers and the engine both appear to be damaged, and personally, plummeting to my death is right up there with getting eaten by a giant octopus on the list of things I really don't want to do today. There may be even more of those things in the other lakes, and I'd rather not find out. So we wait."

Hanks appeared satisfied with it, but a moment later his brow wrinkled in confusion and he spoke up. "There's one thing I don't understand."

"One thing?" McKay quipped with a raised eyebrow.

The corporal pretended not to hear him. "Why didn't that… creature attack us earlier? We flew over the lake before. Why so sudden an attack?"

McKay frowned. "That's true. Maybe it was testing us. Maybe it only wanted to know if we taste good. Which we obviously do."

Hanks was unconvinced. There was something more than that. "I don't know. It didn't react whole day."

McKay fixed Hanks with a penetrating gaze. "You _are_ the soldier here, corporal. You're trained to notice such things." It was first time that Hanks had actually thought about himself as soldier, and it showed. McKay smiled at the pride reflected on the young man's face. Rodney surely had more field experience, but Hanks was specially trained for this type of thing. _No,_ Rodney had to mentally correct himself, _nobody _trains_ to fight a giant octopus…thing. _All the same, he decided to give the kid a chance. "So, what do you think?"

Hanks pursed his lips for a moment before replying, "Maybe we did something bad. I mean, unfriendly from its point of view. Maybe we didn't even realize it."

"And what do you suppose that could be? We didn't go near to water. And I told them not to – Oh no…" He grimaced as he realized how absurd the idea was. Jano and Jena were children after all. Of course they wouldn't do what he told them. _Chalk up another fantastic victory for Rodney McKay, babysitter extraordinaire._ He exchanged frustrated glances with Hanks before looking back to the children, who had passed up the seats in favor of laying sprawled across the floor of the Jumper.

"Oh, I am _so_ looking forward to this," Rodney whispered dryly as he walked over to them. "Listen, Jena, I need you focused. Do you understand?" He almost jumped up when she sat up with a loud "Yes."

"Good, good. That's good. Now, I need to know something, and it's very important. What exactly did you two do at the lake?" At the mention of the lake Jena visibly twitched, but said nothing. "Jena, please, it's very important. Do you remember what you did?" But Jena remained silent, gazing intently at the back of the seat in front of her. _Great. We managed to offend the great Calamari King and I don't even know how because the kids did it. Why the hell did I agree to this? I knew it was a bad idea from the beginning! Stop it! Panic won't help._ He took in a ragged breath and tried again, this time with the boy.

"Jano? Did you hear my question?" Jano nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Good. And can you answer me?" The little prince looked at him, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"We played our game," he whispered weakly.

"What game? Come on, Jano."

"Who has bigger strength. We threw stones into the water and watched whose would fly farthest. Jena won like always. And then it caught her."

"And which one of you threw the last stone?"

"It was Jena. We didn't know. If we did we would never have done it. Please, believe me. I know it's our fault." He began sob.

"Oh no, it wasn't your fault. You didn't know. None of us did." But Jano´s cry did not subsist, so McKay did the only thing he could. He hugged him, albeit clumsily, but Jano clung to the doctor's sleeves as if his life depended on it. They remained in this position for hours; Jano asleep against McKay's chest, Jena staring fixedly off into space, and Hanks watching over all of them. They had to wait until Atlantis realized that something was wrong and made contact. So lying on floor of the Jumper, they waited.


	3. Chapter 3

I am sorry it took so long. I tried to find Beta. So thanks to Witch

Chapter 3

„Jumper One, this is Weir. Do you hear me?" The radio cracked to life and woke up the inhabitats of the Jumper. It was almost dark outside. Rodney panicked for a moment realizing they didn´t have any guards. The lake looked as peaceful as always. But it wasn´t.

„Rodney, do you hear me?" Sounded Elizabeth´s voice again.

„Yes, I do. But I think we´ve got ourselves into a big trouble here." He tried to explain everything. The part of Sorya´s death was disturbed by muffled cries from the children.

„So you´ve found Nessie? Why doesn´t it suprise me?" There were strange things in this Galaxy.

„I think it is a far cry from Nessie, Elizabeth. People believe Nessie is nice and peaceful, which this creature definitely isn´t."

„We can name it later. My problem is Sorya. King Heron won´t be happy about it."

„Neither am I." He replied and his voice began to shake a little.

„I know. But we have to get you from there. Do you think you can go through the Gate?"

„Negative. We have tried it. We were damned lucky it didn´t destroy the Jumper completely. The engines are damaged. It´s difficult to admit it but I don´t know why. Maybe the Deadalus could pick us up? Has it returned from Earth yet?"

„Not yet. But they should be here tomorrow. So you have to hang on. How much food do you have?"

„We have enough food but I have serious doubts about water. It´s really ironic that there are so many lakes on this planet and we can´t get any water."

„So you think there are more creatures like this one in the other lakes?"

„I have no clue and I am certainly not going to find out."

„Well, don´t, Rodney. Stay where you are and we will try to get you from there. Will you be OK for one night?"

„I will but I think the children are pretty shaken, no wonder. Please, hurry up."

„We will. Call every three hours to let us know you are OK." She sounded very worried and he couldn´t blame her. He was scared to death as well.

„Fine. I will call at 9 p.m Atlantis time." He heard the shutting sound of the Gate. As its light disappeared, the darkness surrounded them again.

„Hanks?" Rodney looked at the young soldier. He didn´t take notice of him the whole time he was speaking with Weir. The corporal was pale and shaken but seemed to be fine otherwise.

„Yes, doctor?" His voice sounded tired.

„We have to watch the lakes. All of them. I am taking the first watch. We will switch after three hours so we can call Atlantis. Understood?" Hanks only nodded. He was exhausted. The Talonians still didn´t show any activity so he sat next to them.

„Jena, Jano? Listen to me. You are going to stay here with David for the moment. I´m going to be just outside the ship." Jena nodded but Jano wasn´t so willing.

„Don´t leave us alone. We are afraid." His eyes were beginning to fill with tears again.

„I am not going far. You can watch me out of the window." He pointed to the cockpit window.

After a brief hesitation, the boy nodded.

„Fine." He didn´t want to go out into the darkness. _Come on, McKay. You´ll be only outside the Jumper._ With this though he stood up, took his P-90 and went out into the night.

xxx

Elizabeth Weir was very worried. Send Rodney McKay on a simple mission and it turns into a disaster. She informed King Heron about the situation. He wasn´t happy, hardly a surprise. The others were safe but she wasn´t sure for how long. The Daedalus could arrive late or have some problems. She didn´t want to send anyone else to the planet because the Stargate stood by the lake. She noticed King Heron coming throught the Gate. This won´t be a pleasant meeting. Elizabeth was trying to prepare herself as she was watching Heron who burst into the Control room. He left his two servants in front of her office. Elizabeth stood up and tried to smile.

„Your Majesty, welcome back to Atlantis." She gave a nod and pointed to the chair behind Heron.

„Doctor Weir, can you tell me how this could have happened? You told me the planet was safe. Now Sorya is dead and my children are in danger." He didn´t sit down and ignored Weir´s friendly welcome.

„I believed this planet was safe. We had been there a few times and nothing happened. We are waiting for the arrival of our ship. They will fly there to pick them up. There is no reason to worry." It was only a weak attempt to reassure King Heron and she knew it. And Heron didn´t buy it.

„No reason to worry? Sorya was in my family since my wife´s death almost eleven years ago. There is a strange creature which you didn´t know about. And you sent only two men with them. I think it was a very big mistake." He was right. It was a rather huge mistake to send only one man with McKay. She trusted Rodney but he wasn´t the type for crisis situations. But he was holding until now and she wasn´t sure what to say.

„Your Majesty, we are doing everything possible to get them from there. We have prepared rooms for you and your servants. If anything new happens we´ll let you know."

He stood up and without one word left her office. She hoped the Deadalus was on its way because they didn´t have any plan B.

xxx

McKay felt big relief because nothing had happened during his watch. He had his eyes on the lake the whole time but there was no sign of life. But Rodney knew that in the depth of the lake Nessie was waiting for their next attempt at escape. Fortunately, they had other options. He was begining to think about the creature as Nessie, not having another name for it right now. After three hours he went back to the Jumper. Hanks wasn´t sleeping and was ready for his watch.

„Try to keep close to the ship. I am going to call Atlantis." Hanks nodded and disappeared in the darkness. The children had finally fallen asleep. He dialed the Gate and confirmed to Atlantis they were still here. After the gate shut down he sat silently in the pilot´s seat. He was tired but he couldn´t force himself to sleep. A sudden noise disturbed him and he instinctinvely reached for his weapon. But he lowered it down again when Jena´s big eyes stared at him.

„Are you afraid?" She asked with weak and shaken voice.

„Of course I am afraid." She still watched the scientist, apparently waiting for him to say something else. _Oh God, I am not good at this. _He sat next to the children on the floor of the Jumper. Jano was watching him now, too. To his suprise the girl took his hand and put it around her shoulders. Her brother did the same. He had to do or say something but he was never good at talking to children.

„I have got a sister, too." Said McKay simply.

„Really? Tell us more about her." demanded Jena. Rodney was suprised that she was interested in this topic.

„Her name is Jeannie. I haven´t seen her for almost seven years. I´ve thought often about her since I came to Atlantis." He was telling this to two children. Oh god, he had to be desperate.

„You haven´t seen her for so long? And why?" Jena sat up and looked at him again.

„I don´t know. We said some very ugly things to each other. I had accepted work for US Air Force and we had a big fight because of it. I left and never tried to contact her. Maybe I should have tried at least. Maybe I´ll never see her again." He noticed how his last comment scared her.

„I didn´t mean it like that. I was thinking about other situations in which I could have died. And there will be more of them for sure."

„I and Jano fight, too. But I can´t imagine not talking to him for so long. You have to go to her and try to contact her." She said it with hard conviction.

„It´s complicated." He answered her with a sigh.

„It isn´t. She is your sister, your family. How can you give up your family?"

McKay looked at her with amusement and admiration.

„You are right, your Highless. When we get out of here I will try to see her, OK?"

She seemed satisfied and leant aganist him again. He was glad it took Jena out of lethargy. This subject managed to occupy her thoughts. It was important to get the children out of the shock. He began thinking about Jeannie. She didn´t know what he was doing. His last letter had been from Russia and she never answered it. They hadn´t seen each other for such a long time. It had been his crazy idea to take the offer from US Air Force that drowe them apart. To work in the Stargate program presented a big challange for him. He was in Area 51 and always wanted to go throught the gate. And now he was here on this damned planet with an angry Nessie in the lake without any chance of getting back. Their only hope was the Deadalus. He hated the feeling of his own powerlessness. All his knowledge was for nothing. Rodney was beginning to fall asleep when he heard Hanks.

„Doctor McKay!" The corporal ran inside breathing heavily.

„You have to see this." The children were awaken by him and now they all stood in front of the cloaked Jumper. They were all watching a horrific scene before their eyes. It was as if each lake lived its own life. The tentacles climbed and touched each other.

„What are they doing?" Whispered Hanks his question.

„I think it´s their communication." Whispered Rodney back.

„And what are they saying?" asked Jano.

Hanks answered before McKay could stop him.

„I think they are just saying that food is here."


	4. Chapter 4

So, here is it. I know it isn´t perfect. I made some corrections by myself (apostrophs) but the big thanks belogs to Kormiic and Witch for beta reading. Again, I am not native speaker and this is my first story. So beat me, not Betas :-)

Chapter 4

"Atlantis, this is Caldwell. We will be there in a few minutes." Elizabeth ran out of her office.

"Colonel, thanks god. We need your help here." She answered without greeting.

"What´s going on Elizabeth?" It was Sheppard´s voice this time.

"Believe it or not but McKay is in trouble." There was a moment of silence.

"I believe it. It wouldn´t be him if he didn´t have problems once a week. What´s happened?"

"I will tell you after you land. Just hurry up."

"OK, we are on our way. Daedalus out." Elizabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She turned to the officer sitting behind the console.

"Call me as soon as they get here."

"Yes, doctor." Weir went back to her office. She could only think what would John say about her mistake. And she wasn´t looking forward to it.

xxx

"Get back to the Jumper. It´s cloaked." Said McKay to his companions.

"What are we going to do?" Asked Hanks when they returned to the ship.

"The same as we did before. We will wait for the Deadalus to come. It should be here soon."

"That´s it? We are just going to sit here and wait?" Hanks didn´t sound too enthusiastic at that idea.

"And what should we do? Do you have a better idea?" This time sounded roughness from McKay´s voice. Hanks looked very insulted by that.

"Yes. We should tell them something. Try to communicate with them."

"And how are we going to do that? Should I push my head under the water and call ´don´t kill us we came in peace´?" Rodney cried out this time.

"There must be some way how to do it!" Hanks was shouting, too.

"We have no idea how these creatures communicate among themselves. They believe we attacked them. I won´t risk anything until I´m sure you are all safe on board of the Daedalus. If you don´t like this solution then it´s only your problem. We are staying put."

"I trust Rodney." said Jena suddenly.

"Me too." agreed Jano. They both looked as if this would solve everything. And it was true.

There was resignation in the corporal´s voice now.

"OK. I am sorry, sir. It´s hard to be just sitting here and doing nothing."

"I know how you are feeling. Let´s leave this to our scientists. Our priority is to survive the rest of the night." Said McKay in a low voice. _Where the hell are you, Sheppard?_

xxx

"He did what?" Caldwell couldn´t hide his surprise. Weir told him what had happened and he did not seem too happy.

"He ran into some type of a giant octopus. We are calling it Nessie." He was staring at her for a moment but Elizabeth´s face didn´t change and kept looking serious.

"How far is it from here with the Deadalus?" He changed the subject without any comments on the name Nessie.

"Zelenka has calculated it should be four hours distance for your hyperdrive. There is a night on 551 now, so you would be there by sunrise."

"OK. We will leave immediately after supplies are offloaded from the Daedalus." He nodded at her and left.

Sheppard stood the whole time in the corner of her office. He looked very angry and disappointed.

"How could you make such a stupid mistake, Elizabeth?" He broke the silence so loudly that Weir felt scared.

"We´d believed 551 was uninhabited." It was a weak protest because she knew he was right.

"But only one man! Elizabeth, I thought you were smarter than that." It was hard coming from him.

"It was a mistake but at this moment I can´t do anything about it. The only thing I can do is to send a rescue team after them. You can go with the Deadalus if you want." He was going to say something but a noise from the Control room cut him off. They both went there to find out who was coming back.

"Teyla and Ronon are returning." Said the officer behind the console.

In a few minutes Teyla, Ronon and a young officer entered the Control room.

"Doctor Weir, our mission was succesful." Answered Teyla not giving Elizabeth any chance to ask.

"Welcome back. You can report later. If you are not too tired you can join colonel Sheppard on the board of the Daedalus for rescue mission."

"Rescue mission? What´s happened?" Asked Teyla whose face changed suddenly. Ronon´s, on the other side, stayed as calm as always.

"It´s McKay. Sheppard will tell you everything. Now go because their last report one hour ago wasn´t too encouraging." The two team members nodded and went to join Sheppard who was waiting for them under the stairs. He gave Elizabeth one last angry glance and hurried towards the Daedalus.

But that glance had told her this wasn´t over yet.

xxx

The sky of M6X-551 was showing the signs of sunrise. McKay relaxed a little because Nessie seemed to be affraid of the sun. Tentacles were searching for them around the lakes but the moment the sun came up they returned into the water again. He checked his life sign detector but nothing registered. _How is it possible? They are alive, aren´t they?_

He took a sip of water from his bottle. If the Daedalus didn´t come soon they would be without supplies. They only had two power bars left. He tried to set aside his but then he realized he wouldn´t be much help in hypoglycemic shock. They didn´t sleep. The children were still leaning against him and they seemed to be calm. The biggest shock passed, finally. Hanks was sitting in the co-pilot´s seat with his eyes fixed on the sky. They didn´t speak much since their argument. It was wrong to insult him. He was a soldier but the idea of communication was very unmilitary. He would have said the same if he were in his place. Now Rodney knew how Sheppard must have felt about him. When he was always complaining about something. His eyes were slowly closing when Caldwell´s voice came out of the radio.

"Jumper 1, this is Caldwell, are you there?" He jumped to the radio before Hanks could react.

"Yes, sir. We are still here." He sat down into the pilot´s seat. It was a better feeling to be sitting there. "McKay, what the hell have you been doing there? Can´t I leave you alone for five minutes?" It was Sheppard.

"You were away for two weeks, colonel."

"You are damned lucky the Daedalus was on its way. It´s some misadventure."

"Maybe someone up there loves me."

"I don´t think so." Was Sheppard´s answer. McKay drew a breath to answer him back but Caldwell cut them off.

"It´s enough. I think we have more serious problem here. Doctor McKay, we will beam you up to the ship so don´t be too suprised. We are attempting to beam you along with the Jumper. Is everyone there?" Rodney looked at the children who were already sitting in passanger´s seats and then at Hanks. They nodded but still said nothing.

"We are here. Minus Sorya, of course." He added slowly.

"OK. Hold on. It will take a short moment. Decloak the Jumper so we can do it." Caldwell paused and McKay looked at the Talonians again. He smiled encouragingly.

"It will be over soon. Beaming is fun." Jena smiled back and caught her brother´s hand.

Rodney wasn´t sure why they were in the seats. They could be anywhere in the Jumper but sitting in the seats seemed right to all of them. He decloaked the Jumper and then the familiar light and sound came. McKay closed his eyes and when he opened them again he saw people standing in front of the cockpit´s window.

They walked to the rear door and opened it. There stood his whole team plus Caldwell and a few of Caldwell´s people.

"Welcome back to the Daedalus, doctor." Said Caldwell with a smile.

"Thank you, colonel. You have no idea how glad we are you´ve made it."

"He should be here all the time to help you get out of problems." Said Sheppard with a grin.

"We are glad you are all right, doctor McKay." Said Teyla before he could answer back.

Some medics came and led them away.

"I am fine. Take care of the children." He tried to protest a little.

"McKay, give them a chance." Spoke John again. There was relief in his eyes. And something else what McKay couldn´t describe. When the children clutched his hands he had no other choice but to follow them. Hanks was close behind them and still seemed very shaken. The shock finally got to him.

And when they reached the Infirmary he began feeling it too. He didn´t notice the doctor who checked him. He didn´t even notice when they led him to bed. The only thing Rodney heard was the voice of a nurse.

"You can rest now. We will arrive at Atlantis in four hours. Until then you can sleep."

And he did. Finally, after 24 hours, he fell asleep.

xxx

The Stargate was activated and Jena with Jano were hugging Rodney.

"King Heron, I hope you will change your decision." Said Elizabeth standing beside them.

"I have to consult this alliance with my goverment. But despite the fact that Sorya is dead you brought my children back and I´m grateful."

"It was all my fault. Don´t punish my people because of my mistakes." Answered Elizabeth.

"I won´t." He smiled a little and turned to McKay.

"Doctor McKay, I am glad you were with them. You saved what´s the most precious in my life. Thank you." He held out his hand and McKay shook it. Then Rodney bent to the children.

"So, it´s time to go home." They nodded but Jena didn´t move towards the gate yet.

"Don´t forget your promise." She said simply.

"I won´t." He answered her and she smiled. McKay liked these kids. He never liked any before and he thought they didn´t like him. He was wrong.

"Take care of Jano." He kissed her cheek and she hugged him for the last time. Then Jena followed her father and brother to the light of the Stargate.

xxx

"So it looks like you have handled it OK with these kids." McKay heard Sheppard´s voice behind his back. He was standing on the balcony for almost half an hour.

"Are you OK?" John was really concerned. It was nice.

"Yeah. I am getting used to it. You know, the certain death." Sheppard smiled to himself. It was the old good McKay again.

"You were good. I spoke with Hanks and he said you were cool and saved them all."

"How is he?" Asked Rodney ignoring the compliment.

"Hanks is a soldier. So I think he´s just fine. I don´t know him too well."

"He was good, too." They both watched the ocean and were silent. It was McKay who broke the silence.

"Do we know yet why Nessie didn´t appear on the life-sign detector?" The name sort of became official because they couldn´t think of another one.

"Beckett has a theory that Nessie is cold blooded and something else to that extent. You have to ask him. Or some of our zoologists. I don´t understand it much." Answered John.

"Me neither. I´ve heard you had a fight with Elizabeth." Sheppard´s face became darker after that statment.

"Yes, but it´s over now. Everyone makes mistakes. I was only concerned." But McKay knew it wasn´t the whole truth.

"Elizabeth thinks you should go and see Hightmeyer." Sheppard changed the subject suddenly.

"No. I know what I have to do." Answered Rodney.

"And what is it?" Asked Sheppard confusedly. McKay looked at him and smiled.

"I have to keep a promise."

xxx

Rodney stood in front of his parents´ house. He hadn´t been there for many years. Jeannie was living there since their parents died but Mckay never liked this place. He had escaped from there almost twenty years ago.

But now he was standing before the house door and tried the bell. He secretly hoped that nobody would be there. _There is still time to go away. No, you coward! You made a promise to the little girl… and to yourself._ And then there was the shocked face of his sister. _Well, it´s time. _

"Hi, Jeannie."

THE END


End file.
